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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



|i UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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A MEMORIAL DISCOURSE 



Slje fife, Cjjanittcr aiib Scrbitts 






ij« 



EREilAH JOHNSON, 



OF BROOKr.YN, 



The First President of the St. Nicliolas Society of Nassau Island, 



SAMUEL ROOSEVELT JOHNSON, D. D. 



A CHAPLAIN OF THE SOCIETY. 



lU'liveved before tlie Society in Brooklyn, October 20, lbi53. 



BROOKLYN: 

I. VAN ANDEN'S PRESS, 30 FULTON STREET. 
1854. 




St. BitW^ts S>mttji of llitssau |$laii^. 



At a Special Meeting of tlie St. Nicholas Society of Nassau IslaiMJ. held 
at the City Hall, in the City of lirooklyii. on liic L'lM (hiy of Oetolier. 
I.S52. the Hon. .loiix .\. Lott. 1st Vice President in tiie Cliair. The 
Chairman announced the death of Gk\ki!Ai, Jkkk.mi.ui Johxsox. the late 
{'resident of the Society, in .suitable remarks. 

On motion. Resolved, That a Committee be appointed by ilic Chair to 
draft resolutions, expressive of the .sen-se of the Society, on the event of 
the decease of their venerable President. 

Tlie Chair appointed Hon. John VAXDEunii/r. Hon. (i. L. Mahtkxsk 
and Hon. Samiel Smith, as such Committee. 

Tlie Committee, by the Chairman, Report the following I'reamblc and 
llesolntions. which were unanimously adopted ; 

Whereas, it has pleased the "Wise Ruler of all tilings to remove from 
us the venerable President of this Society, who has endeared himself to 
us by his uniform kindness and goodness ; in whose pure and upright life 
an example has been left us to imitate ; and who, in the discharge of all 
his varied duties was ever vigilant, iaithful and true — 

Therefure be it Resolved, That in the death of tlie venerable President 
of this Society, we, as a Society not only, but as individuals, and as 
members of this community, have cause to mourn ; and while we regret 
the loss, we have reason to admire the worth, the integrity, the honesty 
of purpose, the purity of heart and uprightness of life, of one who. in 
ripe old age, has been removed by the hand of death. 

Resolved, That we deejily sympathize with the family of tlie deceased 
in this dispensation of Divine Providence. But while they mourn, may 
they be consoled that their venerable parent had in all things well per- 
formed his part in the " great drama of life ;'' that he was well prepared 
to enter upon the glorious realities of eternity ; and that he has left a 
name to be revered, and an example worthy to be followed l)y his chil- 
dren, and by all who may live after him. 

Resolved, That we will wear the nsual badge of mourning, and as a 
Society attend his funeral this day in a body. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the family of the 
deceased, as indicating our respect for his memory, and that they be pub- 
lished. 

Whereupon the meeting adjourned to attend the funeral. 



At the next regular meeting of the Society, on the 6th December, 1852, 
a Committee was appointed to procure the delivery of an Address before 
the Members upon the Life. Character, and Services of our late lamented 
President. 



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so as to bring up his image distinct and life-like as 
yon knew him and have seen him, it were well to 
have grown- up by his side, and have been with 
him in his daily walks, familiar with his home, and 
with his ancestral lands where he was l)()rii and 
lived and died; to be imbued with his own tradi- 
tional lore, have naturally known his ways, manner 
and habits ; have had his sayings and anecdotes as 
part and parcel <^f the memory ; his admirable 
character and life as a man, a soldier, a citizen, a 
christian, thoroughly known by unstudied obser- 
vation; and all the localities, incidents, transactions 
and inhabitants of our beautiful Island to have 
been, as they were to him, even as household 
things ; and withal to possess his ({uick perception, 
his ready memory, and his business talent; to be in 
line as his embodied self Your speaker can l)ut 
give you a retired student's words, not over iami- 
liar Avith localities and circumstances, nor well 
disciplined for the business of life's transactions, — 
but he approaches his theme with reverential 
thought, and with a heart of love ; and in one 
instance I can surpass his very self, or relatives 
most near, for their modest mind would have 
shaded his excellencies too much, and I can speak 
of them more freely, and so all the more truly. 
And in coming this night before the presence of 



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7 
our Society to speak of our departed friend, 1 
li;i\'(' nincli added cause of homefelt interest, lor 
I find myself here associated with his most esteem- 
ed Pastor,* well known to me in my youthful days 
as a student of renown, even then distinguished 
for eloquent discourse, just leaving Columbia Col- 
lege as I entered, but moving in its precincts for 
some time after as President of the Peithologian 
Society, of which I am a loyal member. And I call 
to mind, with much emotion, that my own father, 
the Rev. John Barent Johnson, was in the 
years 1802-3, like him, the Pastor of the honored 
subject of our discourse, and of the congregation 
with which lie was all his long life connected. 

And lo! here I am, speaking in this imposing 
and beautiful structure, sacred to the Redeemer's 
name, where one,f — long my school and college 
mate, a friend of youth — tells his people of a Sa- 
viour s love and work. Well do I remember how, 
forty years ago, he used to bring me over to his 
father's dwelling, then very far out of town, out 
l)oyond the Green Hill, and the Nurseries and the 
big Scup, and the old City Prison; and to lead me 
to his motlun-'s mother, the sainted Isabella Gra- 
ham, who would take l)y the hand the little boy, 

* The Rev. Maurice AV. Dwight, D. f). 
t The Rev. Georoe W. Bethvxe. D. D. 



8 
the child of lier fjivorite pupil, and speak a few 
plain words of kindness and religion. Years have 
passed over us since then, thoug-h we have as yet 
felt time's wing but lightly: the currents of life 
have separated us, so that we seldom meet; yet I 
ween to old affection, such re-union is delightful, 
and it furnishes additional reason to me for thanking 
him for the privilege which his courtesy has offered, 
while we thus unite in doing honor to the memory 
of one so honored and beloved. But to my spe- 
cial work — 

Preliminary to the personal history, there are 
certain facts relating to the blood, family, and 
estate of our late President, too interesting to be 
omitted. 

The historians of Long Island unite in the ac- 
count that the families of the Wallabout were 
mainly of Walloon l)lood, the blood of France, 
and that the name Waalbogt means " The Wal- 
loon's Cove," and it might seem that the Johnson 
family is thus descended. Some of the Walloons 
lived in France, on its l)orders; most of them, 
however, inhabited the Belgic provinces ; they 
spoke the old French. Many of the inhabitants 
were Protestants, and in the persecutions of Spain 
and France, they emigrated by thousands into 
Holland, which, like our own country, freely 



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welcomed strangers and the oppressed. Tliey 
were distinguished for industry, bravery, artizan 
skill and agricultural efficiency. In 1G23, in the 
ship New Netherland, a company of thirty families 
embarked from Holland for the colony in Ame- 
rica, most of which were Walloon; they settled 
throughout the country — some going to Hartford, 
some to Albany, and others to the Wallabout. 
Now this may strike some faithful members of our 
Association Avith surprise and some with dis- 
appointment; for we are very far from being- 
prepared to give up our Holland claim upon the 
person and blood of our distinguished President; 
nor are we of his blood prepared to forego our 
birth-right claim to all the pure honors of Holland 
ancestry. Nor need we, nor should we in either 
case. No true son of St. Nicholas will abate his 
tenacious hold in such a business. For look at the 
history of the Walloons : even in their own home, 
they were of mingled blood and that well mingled 
witli the Netherland. The emigrants fled to Hol- 
land, sometimes, it would seem, designating their 
settlement by their name ; there numerously inter- 
marrying, so that their blood became more blended 
with the native; thence some of their families 
emigrated over the wide ocean to cast their lot 
within our Holland Colony. Since that time, 200 



10 
years and more have passed away, each generation 
for a time increasing largely the proportion of 
the pure Holland blood; the French growing 
" beautifully less," till it is left, not forming the 
great substantial element of the man's nature, 
but being the spice as it were, giving some 
fine flavor to the whole, leaving only a minute 
but happy element of cheerfulness, vivacity and 
enterprising spirit, which improves the solid 
strength and resolution of character that marks 
the Hollander. Thus we see our Tiebout, our 
Rapelyea, our Debevoise, manifesting our national 
traits, with unmistaken certainty. Like the knife 
of the Indian Chief, of which he boasted tliat 
the very identical knife had been handed down 
through several generations, twice having had a 
new blade, and once a new handle: — so, andfin no 
other sense do we admit the Gallic claim. Besides, 
some historians* insist that the Johnson blood in 
question is directly of Holland, however incident- 
ally mingled with Walloon ; and that close alliances 
and changes of name, — the patronymic or stock 
name being dropped among the colonists with 
remarkable facility, — and transfers and bequests of 
property have obscured the true relationship. 
The honor of being the colonial ancestor of 

* See Annals of Newtown, by James Rikek. Jr., p. 2G8. 
« i« 



11 

General Johnson, direct in tiu' male liiu*. is Thus 
asserted for Jan Barentsen Van Driest, from 
Ziitphen in Giiilderloiid. in 1G57; and if so, his 
very name and home ai'e enough to satisfy the 
most incredulous. 

It is surprising to see how often the Johnson 
name occurs in the early history of tlie Colony ; 
very frequently as the regular surname, and to an 
inconceivable extent as the middle name ; nor are 
we to think that a name so very common in a 
Holland colony, could have been foreign to 
Holland, or could designate a foreign blood. As 
the name of John is claimed by Christendom, so 
the son of John is found in every land. Among 
the Jansens or Johnsons of the Colony (the names 
are identical.) you will meet with Roelof Jansen, 
whose estate below Warren street, belongs ]iow to 
Trinity Church ; with Andkies Jansen, the first 
schoolmaster of Beveryck, now Albany ; Avith 
Symon Jansen, a commissioner to examine ac- 
counts ; with JoKis. WiLLEM, Pieter, Stoffel, 
AuAVKE. Theunis, Rem, Isaac, Nettert, Caspeer, 
Carson, Aris, Jeremiah Johnson. It was a Jansen 
who gallantly went out on horseback to attempt 
the rescue of the French Jesuits, prisoners among 

the savage Mohawks ; it was at the house of Jacob 

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12 

Jansp]n Stol,*^ that the people of Esopus, having 
no church, were assembled in 1658 to keep 
Ascension Day. A Barent Jansen is marked as 
early as 1687 in the City of New York, and as a 
native in the Colony. A Barent Jansen, in 1690, 
with his son Barnt, was killed at the burning- of 
Schenectady. It was at first written Barnt, with 
but one vowel ; and thus some would write it out, 
Barnet, like the family of General Johnson ; or 
Barent, like his kindred of my own family, on the 
old farm in Brooklyn, near the City Hall. So 
some still write the name Jansen, while others 
write it Johnson, the historic documents, and the 
family correspondence proving beyond dispute or 
doubt identity. Some of these rather peculiar 
names, as Teunis or Barnet for instance, may 
naturally guide us along the family line, especially 
when they are found residing in the same vicinity. 



It is impossible, on an occasion like the present, 
to go minutely into the discussion of genealogies, 
especially where perplexities exist, and where the 
learned differ. But I will mention some interesting- 
results. A banished Huguenot, Joris Jansen de 
Rapelje, son of Jeromus Jansen ue Rapelje, came 
from Holland to New Netherlands, in 1623. He is 

*Broadhead's Hist., p. G-17. 



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13 

said to be the first who tiHed the earth in Brooklyn. 
To liira was born in 1625, Sahah ''the first-born 
Christian daughter in the province of New Nether- 
lands;" fhe ^' first ascertained offspring," say the his- 
torians, "of European parentage" in this the Em- 
pire State. In honor of this, the Dutch authorities 
gave her a donation of land, 20 morgen, or 40 acres, 
at the Wallabout ; and the Indians did, also, some- 
thing of the same kind. Of this history there is no 
doubt, though some question has been raised as to 
the place of her nativity, Albany venturing to dis- 
pute the honor with Brooklyn. But the latest and 
most elaborate of our historians, John Eomeyn 
Brodhead has recorded it as his conclusion, " here 
at theWaalbogJit, in the mouth of June, 1625, was 
born Saeah Rapelje;" the location of the grant in- 
dicates the same ; the family tradition of the John- 
sons and others of the vicinity, has ever been ac- 
cordant ; and in matters of this kind, a iamily event, 
or a marked locality, is preserved with vastly more 
fidelity and certainty ])y a neighborhood tradition, 
than by some individuaVs calculation l)ased upon 
insufiicient data. Now, from the family mansion of 
Gen. Jeremiah Johnson, you look down upon this 
very property ; and he, our First President, was 
descended from this first-born Christian daughter in 
our land. I have, myself, seen and handled, through 
«-- « 



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14 

the courtesy of the sons of our lamented Patriarch, 
an old Deed, dated April 10, 1694, a stained, 
tattered, and venerable Document, written in the 
language of the fatherland, conveying to one of 
the family a portion of the paternal farm ; he by 
another purchase in 1704, obtained the remainder ; 
and his son, dying without issue, bequeathed the 
ancestral estate to his near relative, Barnet John- 
son, whose son, Jeremiah, was our own Founder, 
and his sons again, our honored fellow-members : — 
as one of my kindred exclaimed, " Good Dutch 
blood, and there's more of it left !" 

Gen. Johnson added to his paternal estate other 
adjoining property, parts of which are now laid 
out in city lots. The homestead farm, soon necessa- 
rily to be covered by this vast extending city, con- 
tiiuied while he lived as it was. It extends from 
the Hospital grounds on Kent avenue, on the 
West, to Williamsburg or Division avenue, on the 
East ; from land of Jer. Remsen, deceased, near 
Hooper street, on the North, to land on the South, 
mostly bounded by Flushing avenue, and Walton 
street. These interesting points have detained me 
long. I pass now to the personal history. 



Gen. Jeremiah Johnson was born Jan. 23, 1766, 



15 

oil the liomestead farm. His father, Barnet Johnson, 
was born, April 2, 1740, married Sep. 8, 1764, 
Anne Remsex, of Newtown, and died Nov. 6, 
1782. He was distinguished as a Patriot, and was 
an active advocate of the Revolutionary movement ; 
and, as an officer of the Kings County Militia, en- 
camped with them at Harlaem, in 1776. In 1777, 
lie was taken prisoner by the British, and obtained 
his parole from Gen. Howe, through the interpo- 
sition of a Masonic brother. In order to help on 
the cause to which he was devoted, he shrunk 
not from personal and pecuniary risks, but sug- 
gested loans from friends in his County to the 
American Government, and himself set the exam- 
ple by loaning lirst .£700 and afterwards sums 
amounting to $5,000, all the security for which was 
a simple private receipt ; given, too, in times of ex- 
ceeding peril and discouragement — a noble and 
memorable deed. 

When the Revolutionary war broke out Jeremiah 
Johnson was in his eleventh year. What a boyhood 
must have been his, amidst those afflicting, exciting, 
and often terrible scenes! Yes! he was old 
enough to know all about the mustering of -the 
forces, of the invasion of the enemy, of the catas- 
trophe of the bloody and fatal battle near his very 
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16 
home, of the imprisonment of his father, and of the 
capture of the cit}'. Right before his eyes, in the 
Wallaboiit Bay, lay anchored the dreadful prison- 
ships, in Avhich, during the war, eleven thousand, 
five hundred victims perished. He saw the bands 
of soldiers as they traversed the country, the array 
of ships of war, the moving of their armed boats 
upon the water— and his ears were familiar with the 
sounds of martial music and adventure, and his eyes 
with the signs of invasion and of conflict. He heard 
his father stigmatized as a rebel, and with his own 
eyes he saw English soldiers intruding on his home 
domain, and cutting down liis finest trees remorse- 
lessly. 



But that same boy lived to see another sight. In 
1783, on the 25th of November, he saw the Ameri- 
can guard relieve the British; he saw British 
troops marching, for the last time, down Broadway 
to the Battery, and embarking in boats to their 
ships ; he saw Gen. Washington and suite, at the 
head of American troops, marching down Pearl- 
street, to the Battery ; he saw the British flag pulled 
down, and the first American flag hoisted and 
waving in the breeze. Those were stirring days, 
and must have made indelible impression upon his 
mind and character. 



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His father died before the Peace, and lie was 
thrown the more upon himself; and though the 
distracted times Avere very unfavorable to regular 
education, he improved his opportunities as he was 
able ; attended night schools ; taught himself; and 
so self-made, his manly character was well-disci- 
plined and developed. 

Then, as a good, quiet citizen, he lived upon his 
farm in faithful industry; married his first wife, 
Abigail, a daughter of Rem Rem'sen, in 1787, who 
died in her eighteenth year in 1788 ; his second 
wife, Sarah, a daughter of Tennis Rapilyea, in 1791 ; 
who died in her fifty-third year in 1825; — of ten 
children four are now living, two sons, Barnet and 
Jeromus, and two daughters, Sarah Anne, married 
to Nicholas Wyckoff, and Susanna, married to Lam- 
bert Wyckoff, — children who well sustain the pater- 
nal reputation, following in his steps of virtuous 
example, of benevolence and usefulness,- patronizing 
the erection of churches and every worthy cause. 
His mother died on her birth-day, in 1792, aged 
47 years. The old homestead was taken down and 
the fine substantial mansion, now occupied by the 
family, was erected near the same spot, in 1801. 
He, himself, exemplary iii private life; exceed- 
ingly useful ill social life ; honored with the confi- 



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18 
dence of all ; favored with public trusts ; with high 
offices, civil, military, social ; crowning all with a 
remarkable kindness of spirit, and with Christian 
character and habits, passed nobly through all life's 
staofes to its last. 



"&' 



The private and family life is hardly a suitable 
topic to enlarge upon, on an occasion like the pre- 
sent. I leave it in its own sacredness of simplicity, 
beauty, and affection, to the memories and hearts of 
those who understand it, and who will treasure it, 
oh how tenderly and reverentially, till life's latest 
hour ! 

But I must dwell awhile upon his more public 
career — his official and military history. Naturally 
of social turn, of benevolent impulses, and very 
public-spirited, at quite an early age he took an in- 
terest in whatever promised to promote the welfare 
of his native island ; and, from his very character, 
position, and associations, he became early con- 
nected with public affairs. Of such offices as con- 
sisted with home residence, and interfered not with 
conducting its concerns efficiently, all were conferred 
upon him, which a grateful and confiding commu- 
nity could bestoAV. He was a Trustee of the Town 
of Brooklyn for 20 years, and Supervisor of the 
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19 
same for 40 years, being for a long period tlie pre- 
siding officer of the Board of Supervisors. When 
Brooklyn was erected into a village, the residence 
of Gen. Johnson was left outside of the village 
bounds; and, of course, he could not, except by 
his own influence in a private capacity, which he 
ever largely exercised, participate in its public 
affairs ; but in 1835, the City Charter was obtained, 
and the bounds were so extended as to include the 
Eighth and Ninth Wards ; and thus his residence 
fell again within the lines. In 1837, he was elected 
Mayor of the City of Brooklyn, and re-elected in 
1838 and 1839. He was elected a Member of the 
State Legislature, for the Session of 1809, and 
again, of 1810. In 1840, he was again elected to 
that important station, and again, in 1841. He 
was, at one time. Judge of the Common Pleas. At 
the time of his death he was President of the Wood- 
hull Monument Association, and Chairman of the 
Board of Agriculture in the American Institute. 

Amongst us, of the St. Nicholas Society, he stood 
recognised as our Founder, and our President. 
While he lived, we had no other. Besides all these, 
there was hardly an occasional or incidental duty 
in the business of agriculture, of education, of im- 
provements, of reference, of management, to which 
. « 



20 

lie was not summoned: as a striking instance of 
which I mention as illustrating his business capacity 
and experience, as well as the reputation and high 
confidence he maintained amidst the community ; 
that a member of the bar informed me he could 
hardly go into any search of title in Brooklyn, with- 
out coming in contact with his name in all parti- 
tions of property in four cases out of five ; which 
carried my own memory back vividly to the days 
in 1823, when I so well remember him with Leffert 
Lefferts and Jeremiah Lott, studying and arguing 
over the map of my father's ancestral farm, then in 
pasture, in grain, and in orchard, now built up and 
in the very heart of our great city, dividing it into 
three portions, for my sister, my brother, and myself 



General Johnson Avas naturally a soldier. He 
showed it in his manly countenance and martial 
bearing ; and the life of his boyhood and youth must 
have nursed the patriot thought and the soldier spi- 
rit. During the war with Great Britain from 1812 
to 1815, he Avas at first only a Junior Captain; but 
when one was solicited to go out in command on 
the Frontier, others declining, he volunteered for 
the dangerous duty ; and so he took precedence by 
consent, and. early became Colonel. Meanwhile he 
was very active in raising troops, and took great 



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21 

iiilorest in military affairs; and held himself ready 
at call. He was then honored with a Brigadier- 
GeneraFs commission, and was placed in command 
of the 22nd Brigade of Infantry, numbering 1750 
men, and in view of a defence against an invasion, 
til en almost daily expected, was ordered on Sept. 
2, 1814, to Fort Greene, in Brooklyn, on which a 
fort and barracks were erected — a service on which, 
(as he wrote to his children ) '' I entered most wil- 
lingly."' There he remained in Camp for three 
months, when Peace was made between the mother 
country and our own, never again, 1 trust, to be in- 
terrupted. Whilst there he was conspicuous for 
ids soldier-like ability ; he proved himself an excel- 
lent disciplinarian ; and he was a vast favorite with 
officers and privates, watching carefully over their 
rights and comforts, and most impartial in disci- 
pline, except that he was said to restrain and 
}junish his special friends the soonest and the most. 
He was fortunate as well, for in that three months' 
time, no one of his soldiers died. After the Peace 
he was promoted to be a Major- General, an office 
wliich he held during his life, though not in actual 
command of a Division. 

How Providence shapes the circumstances of hu- 
man history ! Had our gallant friend been brought 



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22 
into the thick of memorable adventure, and stirring 
and momentous conflict, then had there been a 
Johnson in the field with his quick eye and mas- 
terly combinations, with his sagacity and great 
good sense ; and his executive ability, noted for 
successful accomplishment in every field it moved 
in ; with his warm heart and frank manners, and 
determined resolution, his soldiers devoted to his 
person to the death, who might have equalled the 
fame of our most conspicuous braves. The touch 
of his French blood would have carried him onward 
and forward ; his Holland blood would have made 
him sure to maintain all the ground he gained with 
obstinacy immoveable. Like our great General 
Taylor, he would have but done his duty, and 
blushed to find it Fame. So circumstances make 
difference of event — but the man is all the same. 



L must not omit the Literary History of the Ge- 
neral, and some account of his manuscript remains, 
so far as I have had the opportunity to know of 
them, quite a large package having been placed 
within my hands by his family, which I have tho- 
roughly explored. He was fond of putting down 
memoranda and scraps of history, and interesting 
facts which his observation and experience had ga- 
thered ; though he did it in an incidental way, 



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23 

rather like one meaning to gather them for farther 
arrangement, and as materials for a more labored 
attempt. Sometimes he did thus bring them into 
a more collected form, and write them out partially, 
for a Lecture before some Lyceum or Society, or 
for the use of some enquiring friend : — still even 
in the Lecture, often putting doAvn but heads, 
leaving memory and speech to fill up the intervals. 
Thus we have reminiscences of Brooklyn, a dis- 
course on the Revolutionary war, notes on the early 
settlement of Williamsburgh and Bushwick, and 
Long Island generally, and accounts of some of the 
old families of the land. He seems, also, to have 
been fond of taking up some religious or Biblical 
theme, of sacred history or truth, and writing down 
his thoughts. Sometimes, too, he ventured to in- 
dulge the dangerous luxury of courting the muse of 
Poesy,- oftener in satiric and political than sentimen- 
tal strain. Sometimes he is exploring the lines of 
townships, reporting upon records, searching into 
titles. One large volume contains all the orders 
given out by him as Brigadier General, and facts 
connected with his official military life. Sometimes 
there are translations from Erasmus, and other old 
authors. Well acquainted with the language of 
Holland, he was fond of making translations from 

its writers ; and his excellent translation of Von der 

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24 

Donk's History of New Netherlands, evincing his 
knowledge of the tongue of the Fatherland, is high- 
ly complimented by Thompson, in his History of 
Long Island. Indeed, there has not been an author 
meditating a work upon Long Island, or publishing 
one, who has not conferred with General tlEREMiAn 
Johnson, and treasured u^) his words ; and who has 
not borrowed and used his communications and his 
notes, and made grateful mention of him and of his 
assistance. Thompson, Prime, Onderdonk, Strong, 
Riker, in their Histories, all do this ; and generally 
give his personal history and eulogium. Some 
publish pages of his communications, — all have 
introduced his facts. Thus it has happened, that 
in one shape or another, these have been long since 
and repeatedly brought before the public, and form 
materials of our known and popular histories. 
Sometimes there is a communication on the finan- 
ces of Brooklyn, sometimes upon its rights ; — now 
an essay on the Fall of Nations, now some frag- 
mentary folio leaves upon the Reformation in 
France. The last I will mention is a Draught of 
his Address before our St. Nicholas Society, which 
we so well remember, pronounced by him, so ad- 
vanced in years, with such dignity of presence and 
with unexpected clearness and vigor. I will not 
leave this portion without the following brief ex- 
^ _ 



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25 

tract from its page: — "We hail every person in 
whom Dutch blood is mingled and flows, as a de- 
scendant of the heroic race which contended for 
civil and religious liberty in Holland ; we know 
they will be freemen in America." 

The Religious Character and Life is the best pos- 
session of man ; his richest treasure, his truest orna- 
ment, his real nobility, his strength and glory. 
And here our departed President stood forth an 
exemplary man ; a modest, consistent, obedient, 
habitual, conforming Christian. A cheerful, hope- 
ful, and confiding religiousness characterized him, 
united to an active spirit, ever ready to be service- 
able. His faith in the great Redeemer, as the one 
Atoning Sacrifice for sin, and as the Lord our 
Righteousness, was unwavering, and was the chief 
element of his spiritual life. He belonged to the 
old Dutch Reformed Congregation in Brooklyn, of 
which the Rev. Maurice W. Dwight is now the Pas- 
tor. In that congregation, from boyhood to old 
age, he was a steadfast worshipper. For fifty years 
he was there a communicant. He was, we may 
say, a standing member of the Consistory, in and 
out, alternating, according to the parish method, 
continually. He was Clerk of the Consistory for 
forty years. On all business committees he was the 



26 

working member ; and when church or parsonage 
was to be erected, his name is prominent among 
the building committees, in counsel or for accom- 
plishment. There is also a religious tone in all his 
lectures and communications, which bespeaks the 
religious man. And the subject of his compositions 
is frequently a scriptural or religious one, — Notes 
on Genesis ; Remarks on the Catechism, particu- 
larly on the Lord's Sup|)er; the Republic of the 
Hebrews, &c. ; showing his habitual interest in sub- 
jects kindred to his faith. Some of these commu- 
nications are particularly affecting. One is '' Advi- 
sory Remarks to my Children, when I took command 
in the war of 1812," — when he knew not how soon 
he might fill a soldier's grave. Another is a Record 
of the charge given to him by his father, Barnet, 
an hour before his death, by him recorded, so he 
writes, "to transmit to his children and their pos- 
terity the desire of their worthy father, and to shoAV 
with what zeal he desired to promote the glory of 
God ; hoping that he may, with this precept, to- 
gether with the example left them of his piety, 
inspire them (with the help of God,) with princi- 
ples similar to those he possessed." The charge 
was this: — "My son, I am about departing this 
life, and earnestly desire that you pay strict atten- 
tion to tlie religion I have taken care to instruct 



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27 
you in, and that you in no wise forsake our Dutch 
Churcli ; and further, that you obey the commands 
of your mother, and assist her in supporting and 
taking care of your brothers and sisters. Herewith 
God give you grace — farewell." 

His own Christian views and spirit may be recog- 
nized in the prayer, written by his own hand, in the 
Bible he generally read from. After an outline of 
the Gospel belief, he writes thns: — " 0, heavenly 
Father, grant us an interest in the mediation and 
atoning sacrifice of thy beloved Son, our heavenly 
Saviour ; remember us in thy kingdom ; impart to 
us that firm faith, ardent love, and exalted hope in 
thy heavenly name, which are acceptable to Thee ; 
and the remission of sins ; and that the remainder 
of the days Thou hast allotted us to live may be 
spent in thy fear and love ; and when it shall please 
Thee to remove our spirits from these our bodies 
of clay, we pray Thee to receive us to thy chosen 
in thy heavenly kingdom. Amen." I need add 
no more on this point, except to say that his de- 
parture was accordant Avith his life; and that in 
calm expectation of the event, in humble trust in 
his Saviour, surrounded by his near and dear rela- 
tives and friends, he bore well his last sickness; 
and on this day one year ago, and about this very 



28 
liour,'^" sunk tranquilly to rest, aged eighty -six years, 
eight months and twenty-eight days. 

Such, my friends, Avas his history. The Traits of 
his personal character were also very interesting, 
and beautifully harmonizing Avith his life. There 
are men of delightful temper, spirit and manner, 
Avho make themselves felt and understood as the 
friends of man; the interest they take, awakens 
our interest in them ; their exuberant benevolence 
pervades all they do, attracting all they meet : it 
is written on the feature; it looks out from the 
eye ; it is felt in the hand's warm grasp ; it bounds 
forth in the cheerful, welcoming voice ; it finds ex- 
pression in every gesture and motion ; the stranger 
Avho meets him on the wayside ventures to speak 
out ; the little children take to him playfully and 
trustfully ; and old age recognizes by native instinct 
and by long experience, the brother and the friend. 
Such was General Johnson. Fellow-Members ! How 
did our eyes look out at the very lirst, whenever 
we assembled, to recognize his venerable form ; and 
drooped disappointed if he were not present. And 
well we might so feel ; for, take him for all in all, 
we may hardly hope to look upon his like again. 

* Nine o'clock in the evening. 

— U 



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He was remarkably active, prompt, decided ; 
never idle ; of indefatigable industry. His long 
uninterrupted healthfulness kept up his activity, 
his elasticity, and his constitutional cheerfulness; 
he was kindly to all, very warm-hearted and affec- 
tionate ; generous in all his instincts, sympathizing 
witli the young. The boy lived on even in his 
aged heart, and had never died out — a trait of 
happy wisdom which every son of St. Nicholas 
should cultivate — in which we should rejoice to 
imitate our patriarch. He was scrupulous and ex- 
act in fulfilling his duties, and attended to his trusts 
with a peculiarly Holland integrity and fidelity ; 
punctual to the time, and expecting j)unctuality 
from others : so memorable indeed for this, that his 
portrait represents him holding his watch, the fore- 
finger pointing to the minute hand, which had 
travelled past the even hour of the appointment. 
Quick-tempered he was, but he bore no resentment ; 
he was ready to be reconciled. If his indignation 
was aroused, it was at manifest injustice, cruelty, 
or wrong ; and seldom personally, except there 
were an attempt at imposition or deceit ; for frank 
and above-board himself, he expected and allowed 
no trickery in others. He commanded to an almost 
unexampled degree the confidence of the commu- 
nity, and he had no sympathy with anything that 



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tended at all to impair private or public faith. He 
was of social, genial mood ; he was fond of his pipe, 
even to the last ; and handled it from his seven- 
teenth year to within a quarter of an hour of his 
death. He was fond of his gun, relishing such ac- 
tive sport even in old age. He was fond of walk- 
ing, and of manly exercise ; from youth up he was 
an early riser, and he went early to bed. He was 
temperate and simple in his diet ; '^ one dish" Avas 
his general word and practice at his meals. He 
took pleasure in seeing his friends, was full of con- 
versation, abounded in anecdote, had hopeful views 
of life, and took interest in passing events and in 
personal history. His free, easy, unreserved man- 
ners, made him ever a welcome and delightful 
guest. He could give information upon the gra- 
vest and most important themes ; he could sympa- 
thize with the most common. If there was an 
ancient tree''^' or stump connected with some me- 
morial of the past, he knew of it, and he was the 
one to mark it by a monumental stone. If there 
was any interesting incident, he laid it up in the 
treasure house of his memory, and brought it out 
as occasion served. His perception was quick and 
clear, and his tact admirable ; and well nigh to the 

* See Strong's History of Flatbush, p. 39. 



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last "liis eye was not dim nor his natural force 
abated ;" and his voice continued full and strone*. 

All the likenesses taken of him express his vene- 
rable, manly, and genial character. As 3'ou enter 
the Governor's Room in the City Hall of Brooklyn, 
at the side of Washington yon behold his portrait, 
an admirable one, painted by the distinguished 
William S. Mount, (whose fame posterity will 
cherish;) and whether there, or in the two por- 
traits, by the same artist, in the possession of the 
family ; or in the beautiful lithograph of D'Avignon, 
prepared by the order of the American Institute, 
and to be published in the Volume of its Proceed- 
ings for the year 1852, with a memoir of his public 
and official life and character ; or in the daguer- 
reotype of our Stanbery, of whom Brooklyn is so 
justly proud ; or in the exquisite engraving of the 
bills of the Central Bank of Brooklyn, just issued ; 
or in the bold, rough wood engraving of Orr, pre- 
pared for the Brooklyn Freeman newspaper, — in 
all you may see these traits of a brave, manly, saga- 
cious, efficient, and kindly man, clearly and stri- 
kingly expressed. 

Of course there was deep sensation at his death. 
The Union, State, and City Flags were displayed at 

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32 

half-mast from the top of the City Hall. The Mu- 
nicipal Authorities, the Military Authorities, the 
Board of Supervisors, the Social Institutions, the 
Agricultural Societies, all immediately held special 
meetings, passed resolutions of condolence and re- 
spect, and came as mourners to his burial. All the 
Press united to do him honor, and each newspaper 
gave full detail of his private and public life, and 
recorded its eulogium of his character. Our St. 
Nicholas Society, you may be sure, was with the 
foremost in such tribute of honor ; as individuals 
and as a Society we gave expression to our pro- 
found regret ; eloquent and touching words were 
spoken ; appropriate resolutions were passed ; and 
orders were given to Avear the badge of mourning, 
and attend as a Society at his funeral. Subsequent- 
ly, at the Annual Meeting, a Special Committee 
was appointed, consisting of the President (the Hon. 
J. A. Lott,) and the Vice Presidents of the Society, 
to procure the delivery of an Address before the 
members, upon " the Life, Character and Services" 
of our late lamented President ; an office for Avhich 
I was solicited, and which I accepted at once, as a 
high honor and privilege, and as a labor of love — 
a duty which I have thus imperfectly discharged, 
on this first anniversary of his death. 



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33 

Fellow-Members : we were present at his faiie- 
ral, amidst the crowds of our most distiiio-iiished 
citizens. Just previous to his departure he had 
made particular request, that without civic or mili- 
tary escort, and by his family alone, he should be 
accompanied to his grave. So in all simplicity our 
afiecting services were rendered. We listened to 
Holy Scripture read by the Rev. Thomas M. Strong, 
D. D. ; to prayer offered by the Rev. J. Green- 
leaf; and to an admirable discourse delivei'cd by 
his Pastor, tlie Rev. Maurice W. Dwight, D. D. ; 
and he was borne to his grave in our beautiful 
Greenwood, and buried among his kindred. 

Oh, what a memorable Era did he live in ! What 
vast changes did he see in our City, in our Nation, 
in the World! All the stirring adventures and 
vast results of the American Revolution, the birth 
of our glorious Republic and its amazing develop- 
ment and destiny ; all the mighty events of the pe- 
riod of the French Revolution, and the splendid 
career of the First Emperor of France ; the growth 
of the^iant Metropolis near us, and of our own 
Brooklyn,' from the mere hamlet to the proud and 
populous City ;— all the wide and wonderful strides 
which science, art, civilization, and Christian enter- 
prize have taken, renovating the face of the worid ; 
accomplishing exploits which never crossed the 



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34 

imagination of romance, never were suggested by 
tlie forecast of philosophy ! The grand reality has 
outstripped all previous thought ; the spirit of Dis- 
covery lias triumphantly invaded all provinces of 
matter and of mind. Think of the world as in liis 
boyliood ; think of it again as at liis death ; and 
reason lialts, startled ; and trembles at the surve}' 
of tlie Past, at the realizing of the Present, at the 
expectation of the Future. 

Friends and Fellow-Citizens, Members of the St. 
Nicliolas Society of Nassau Island, I have done. I 
have pronounced a Discourse in memory of one who 
was greath' beloved and prized by us ; who was 
e\'ery inch a man; who through long years won 
universal confidence and regard ; Avhose Period of 
History was one of most magnificent proportions. 
Few instances of such fortunate combination ; few 
examples so well balanced and complete ; few so 
well furnished with the best elements of heart, 
mind, manner, and physical perfection ; few living 
so long amidst such brilliant events and accom- 
plishments of history, can be pointed out. To him 
will l)e willingly conceded, even by his Peers, the 
tribute of being our First President, not only in 
time, but in honor and position ; — and may we not 
pronounce him Brooklyn's First and Foremost 
CrnzKN ! 




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